Problem: Vanessa's Furniture Store buys a book shelf at a wholesale price of $159.00. If the markup rate at Vanessa's Furniture Store is 80%, what is the total markup for the book shelf in dollars?
Explanation: Remember that a markup rate is a percentage of the wholesale price that a store adds to get a selling or retail price. The amount of markup can be found with the following equation: markup rate $\times$ wholesale price $=$ amount of markup Since the markup rate is a percentage, we have to convert it into a decimal first. Percent means "out of one hundred," so $80\%$ is equivalent to $\frac{80}{100}$ which is also equal to $80 \div 100$ $80 \div 100 = 0.80$ Now you have all the information you need to use the formula above! $0.80$ $\times$ $$159.00$ $=$ $$127.20$ The amount of markup on the book shelf is $$127.20$.